• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has signed a contract with Indian Navy for initially supply 20 Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Dazlers (Laser Dazzlers) in New Delhi recently.
• The Laser Dazzler would be manufactured by BEL, Pune plant.

Laser Dazzler

• It is used as a non-lethal method for warning and stopping suspicious vehicles/boats/aircrafts/UAVs/pirates etc. from approaching secured areas during both day and night.
• It is capable of dazzle and thereby suppress the person’s/optical sensor’s action with disability glare in case of non-compliance to orders.
• It disorient/ confuse/blind a person temporarily.
• It also dazzles and distract aircraft/UAVs.
• It is a portable, shoulder operated and ruggedized for military use in adverse environmental conditions.
• Laser dazzler technology was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Atmarnirbhar Bharat

• This unique product is indigenously designed and developed for first time for the Armed Forces.
• It will support the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)

• It is a large-scale nationwide survey of representative households.
• The MoHFW has designated International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai as the nodal agency.
• The survey is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with supplementary support from UNICEF.
• The survey is based on 131 parameters.

ASHA-India

• It aims to promote domestic research and entrepreneurship by providing incubation and acceleration support to potential future technologies.
• Under ASHA-India initiative, five ASHA-India Centers have been set up for providing incubation and acceleration support.
• The potential technology winners under acceleration support will be announced by the Prime Minister.
• The technologies, processes and materials identified through this initiative will provide a major fillip to young creative minds, start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs.

R P Tiwari Committee

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a seven-member committee headed by R P Tiwari.
• This committee will consider the issue of holding common entrance test at undergraduate (UG) level only from the next academic year in central universities to provide a single platform for admission.
• The new National Education Policy (NEP) advocates reducing the number of entrance tests to eliminate the need for taking coaching for these exams.
• If the NEP suggestion is implemented, the National Testing Agency will be established.
• This Agency will be tasked to conduct a common aptitude test as well as specialised common exams for different disciplines at least twice a year, for admission to bachelor degrees in central universities.

Lithium Refinery

• India’s first Lithium refinery will be set up in Gujarat.
• It will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material.
• Lithium is a rare element not usually found in India, which would be imported from Australia and processed in this refinery.
• The proposed Lithium refinery will help make Gujarat a domestic hub for Li-ion batteries manufacturing.
• TDS Lithium-Ion Battery Gujarat Private Ltd is India’s first Lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
• This Lithium ion battery manufacturing plant is expected to become operational by January or February 2021.

International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)

• The IOSCO is the international organization that brings together the world's securities regulators, covering more than 95% of the world’s securities markets.
• It is the global standard setter for the securities sector, which is HQ in Madrid, Spain.
• IOSCO works closely with the G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in setting up the standards for strengthening the securities markets.
• Recently International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has become an Associate Member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)

Eco-Sensitive Zones

• Its objective is to minimise the negative impacts of certain activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
• In case of places with sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, even area beyond 10 km width can also be included in the eco-sensitive zone.
• Activities Allowed under ESZs are

1. Prohibited activities - Examples are Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), and establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP).
2. Regulated activities - Examples are Felling of trees, establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, etc.
3. Permitted activities - Examples are ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.

Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC)

• Launched in 2019, the challenge is undertaken under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U).
• GHTC focuses on identifying and mainstreaming proven demonstrable technologies for lighthouse projects and spotting potential future technologies for incubation and acceleration support through ASHA (Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators) — India.
• Light House Projects (LHPs) under GHTC-India comprise about 1000 houses at each location along with allied infrastructure facilities.
• These LHPs demonstrate a variety of technologies, including Prefabricated Sandwich Panel System in LHP at Indore, Monolithic Concrete Construction using Tunnel Formwork etc.

Appointment of Judges of High Courts

• The procedure of appointing the Judges of the High Courts in India is slightly different from the appointment of the Judges of the Supreme Court.
• A person who have selected to become a high court judge should have held a judicial office in the territory of India for ten years or should have been an advocate of high court(s) for ten years.
• There is no minimum age fixed for high Court judges, and unlike in Supreme Court, there is no provision for appointment of a distinguished jurist as a judge of a high court.
• As per article 217, the chief Justice of the high court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief justice of India as well as the Governor of the state in question.

Lightning Strike  

• Moving free electrons in the clouds cause more collisions and more electrons, a chain reaction ensues.
• This process results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud gets positively charged, while the middle layer is negatively charged.
• The electrical potential difference between the two layers is huge of the order of a billion to 10 billion volts.
• An enormous amount of heat is produced, and this leads to the heating of the air column between the two layers of the cloud.
• This heat gives the air column a reddish appearance during lightning.
• As the heated air column expands, it produces shock waves that result in thunder.

• Lightning incidents in India report is published by Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), a non-profit organisation that works closely IMD to disseminate early lightning forecasts.